Weekly Wednesday Wire: December 6, 2017

USBC Newsletter

Federal News

Funding to Support Innovation in Maternity Hospitals, from CDC

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion has announced a funding opportunity through the Small Business Innovation Research grants program entitled, "Innovative Approaches for Maternal and Infant Safety in Maternity Hospitals." U.S. small business concerns that meet specific criteria are eligible to submit applications (see Section III for eligibility information). The project goals are to develop creative and innovative approaches, including but not limited to technological applications, to standardize methods and procedures to support safe implementation of skin-to-skin contact for healthy infants and safe rooming-in throughout the hospital stay. Full details can be found on pages 153-154 of the announcement. The submission deadline is Friday, January 5.

Grant Award to Support Breastfeeding in Hospitals and Communities, from CGBI

The Carolina Global Breastfeeding Institute has received the support of a three-year $830,000 grant from The Duke Endowment. With this funding, CGBI will expand their work to promote and support breastfeeding with hospitals and communities in North Carolina and South Carolina. CGBI will partner with participating hospitals and Population Health Improvement Partners to provide direct technical assistance and quality improvement methodology to ensure optimal maternity-care practices, support the hospitals as they pursue official state recognition and/or Baby-Friendly designation, and work with them to ensure the sustainability of lactation services in their respective communities. CGBI will also assist hospital systems in implementing prenatal education in their affiliated clinics, provide technical assistance for establishing outpatient lactation services, and offer training to child-care providers in those communities on CGBI's pilot-tested "10 steps to breastfeeding friendly child care." Through this project, CGBI will serve up to 20 hospital communities.

Partner News

Prevention Fund Action Alert, from NACCHO

The National Association of City & County Health Officials has launched an easy action tool for individuals to urge their Members of Congress to protect the Prevention and Public Health Fund (PPHF) in the ongoing tax reform debate. The Senate passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and the bill now moves to conference with the House to work out the differences between the House and Senate bills. If Congress does not enact offsetting budgetary savings or provide some other remedy, enactment of this bill will trigger massive automatic program cuts every year for the next ten years, including cuts to the PPHF.

Report on Food Industry Self-Regulation, from UConn Rudd Center

The University of Connecticut's Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity has released a report titled, "Food industry self-regulation after 10 years." The report looks at the impact of the food industry's voluntary improvements on children's total exposure to TV and internet food advertising and limitations in industry self-regulation after 10 years of the Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI). It concludes that unhealthy food marketing to children remains a major public health concern. While noteworthy progress has been made, there is a need for CFBAI to strengthen its nutrition standards and expand their requirements. The report is the latest in a series of Rudd Center FACTS reports that document the marketing techniques and nutritional quality of food and beverages targeted to children and teens.

New Partnership to Improve Kindergarten Readiness, from NICHQ

The National Institute for Children's Health Quality has launched a new initiative to reduce disparities in children ages birth to three and increase school readiness. Working alongside StriveTogether and funded by the Pritzker Family Foundation, NICHQ will support communities in using continuous quality improvement science to identify, narrow and improve critical developmental outcomes measures. The goal of the partnership is to build the capability of local providers to track and leverage data to drive improvement and to identify specific strategies for improving outcomes for children prenatal to 3, which can then be amplified nationally as best practices. Read the press release.

Webinar Series on Marijuana Use and Public Health, from Dialogue4Health

Model Local Ordinance on Marijuana Regulation, from Dialogue4Health

Join Dialogue4Health on Friday, December 15, from 3-4:30 p.m. ET for a webinar entitled "Sharing a Public Health Oriented Model Local Ordinance for Marijuana Regulation." Dialogue4Health convened with experts and stakeholders across the country, researched the limits of local regulation, and generated feedback on a draft model local ordinance as part of the Getting it Right from the Start: Local Regulation of Recreational Marijuana project. This Web Forum will present and discuss a model local ordinance for marijuana regulation and is recommended for representatives of local jurisdictions in California and other states considering legalizing recreational marijuana, community organizations, substance abuse prevention and treatment experts, and other stakeholders.

Evaluation Guide, from WKKF

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation has published a new resource to help organizations evaluate their work. The step-by-step guide lays out how to approach evaluation, defines different evaluation methods and how to use them, and how to share findings. It also highlights why community engagement and racial equity are crucial to the evaluation process. This resource is designed for people with little or no experience with formal evaluation and is a starting point for understanding the basics of evaluating an organization's work.

News from the Field

Breast Cancer Screening Survey for Women with Disabilities, from AAHD

The American Association on Health and Disability has released a confidential survey to examine the experiences of women with disabilities during mammography and breast cancer screenings. AAHD is seeking responses from women with disabilities who are at least 40 years of age, or who are younger than 40 years of age but have been advised by their health care provider to have a mammogram. The confidential survey aims to explore the physical, cultural, and attitudinal barriers that women with disabilities face when seeking breast health care services.

State and Community News

HP2020 Stories from the Field Highlight Work of State Coalition, from Delaware

Collective Impact Connection

Blog Post on Evaluation and Learning, from FSG

FSG has published a blog post titled "What Have We Learned About Learning in the Past 10 Years?" The article explores the trends of evaluation over the past decade and examines three lenses impacting evaluation practice, including: systems thinking and systems change; diversity, equity, and inclusion; and continuous learning. The article also uses examples of the evaluator's work to look at these trends in evaluation.